Roller-lock for the continuous transportation of textile materials into or out of autoclaves

ABSTRACT

A roller-lock has been provided for sealing autoclaves during introduction and withdrawal of a textile material in the same. The roller-lock consists of a pair of perforated drums rotated around the axis which form a squeezing slit over the width of the rolls. During operation, the interior of the drum is being evacuated and, if desired, the evacuated gaseous medium reintroduced into the autoclave. The part of the roller drum under suction may be restricted to be no greater than one quarter of the total surface of the drum. A lip-lock may be placed behind the nip of the drums to improve the sealing. The perforated drums may also be covered with one or more layers of a sieve fabric.

O United States Patent m1 3,593,901

[72] inventors Hans-Ulrich Von der Eltz 56] References Cited Fmkiu" am Main UNITED STATES PATENTS Richard Gross. Munich; Albert Reuthen. l 2,034,694 3/1936 Dausmann 226/95 X ranklurt am Mam, all of, Germany 2,239,424 4/1941 ller 68/5 (E) [2 H 834958 3 299 676 l/l967 Fu'ihashi 68/5 (E) [22] Filed June 20,1969 j {45] Patented July 20, 1971 Primary Examiner-Richard A. Schacher [73] Assignee Farbvvcrke Hoechst Aktiengesellschaft Attorney-Curtis, Morris & Safford vermals Meister Lucius & Bruning Frankfurt am Main, Germany [32] Priority June 25, 1968 [33] Germany [31} v p ABSTRACT: A roller-lock has been provided for sealing autoclaves during introduction and withdrawal of a textile ROLLERLOCK FOR THE C ONTINU OUS material In the same. The roller-loch consists of a pan of perforated drums rotated around the axis which form a squeezing TRANSPORTATION 0F TEXTILE MATERIALS INTO 0R OUT OF AUTOCLAVES slit over the width of the rolls. During operation, the interior 5 CM 1 D" of the drum is being evacuated and, if desired, the evacuated wmg gaseous medium reintroduced into the autoclave. The part of [52] U.S. Cl 226/95, the roller drum under suction may be restricted to be no 34/92, 34/242, 68/5 E, 226/ 18! greater than one quarter of the total surface of the drum. A [S 1] Int. Cl B65h 17/30 lip-lock may be placed behind the nip of the drums to improve [50] Field of Search 34/242, 92; the sealing. The perforated drums may also be covered with one or more layers of a sieve fabric.

PATENIED JUL20|97| //l ////l Ill/l/l/l ll [Ill/ 11 INVENTORS HANS-ULRICH VON DER ELTZ RICHARD GROSS ALBERT REUTHER M, M: Q

ATTORNEYS ROLLER-LOCK FOR THE CONTllNUO US TRANSPORTATION OF TEXTILE MATERTAHS llNTiO Gilli OUT OF AUTOCILAVIES It is known that textile materials, especially those consisting of or containing synthetic fibers, can be dyed by fixing on the fiber, by pressure steaming, the dyestuffs preliminarily applied thereon. This pressure steaming is carried out with socalled continuous pressure steamers. When this process is applied, the textile material padded with the dyestuff dispersion, passes through a roller-lock into the autoclave under pressurized steam, it is then run therein over a system of guide rollers and finally leaves the autoclave through a second roller-lock. ln general, pressures of l to 2 atmospheres gauge are applied for the fixation of the dyestuffs. The steaming period depends on the dyestuffs used, the nature of the textile material to be dyed and the pressure used. When higher pressures are applied, the periods required for the fixation are correspondingly shorter, thus enabling a higher production speed. However, any further increase of the pressure to more than 2 atmospheres gauge is limited by the fact that the roller-locks available up to now are resistant to pressures of up to 2 atmospheres gauge only, generally even only up to L atmosphere gauge. The construction of the roller-locks is sufficiently known and described in the literature (H. Schattun, Textilpraxis 1966, pages 69l-692).

However, the continuous pressure steamers with so-called lip-locks" as those used in bleaching, which allow pressures of more than 2 atmospheres gauge, are not appropriate for being used in dyeing and printing, since the lips slide on the textile material and thereby cause on the goods treated with the dyestuff a nonuniform appearance.

We have now found that installations for the continuous pressure treatment which are provided with roller locks can also be used for atmospheric excess pressures of more than 2 atmospheres gauge when using, for the transportation of the textile materials into or out from the autoclaves roller-locks which stand under suction draught and are sealed with liplocks. The use of devices working according to this principle pennits bypassing the aforedescribed disadvantages resulting from the sealing of autoclaves at higher pressures when conventional roller-locks are employed.

An embodiment of a roller-lock used according to the invention is shown in cross section by way of example, in the accompanying drawing.

The roller-lock according to the invention applied for seaiing the autoclave to prevent the treating medium from camp ing into the atmosphere as well as for continuously transporb ing textile materials ll into or out from this autoclave 2 is arranged before or on top of the protruding casing 3 of the treatment chamber for the goods, and consists essentially of a pair of hollow drums, so-called sieve drums 45, which are provided at the cylindrical jackets with a perforation, and which are in contact with each other over the whole drum width, thus forming with their jackets a squeezing slit through which the textile material enters or leaves the steamer. These sieve drums, in the interior of which suction draught is produced during operation, are sealed tight to pressure at the front end faces and connected axially over connection socltets with outlet pipes for the treatment medium to be aspirated and are rotatable around their axis. They can be rotated by means of a motor, the two drums rotating in opposite sense depending on the direction in which the goods are to be transported. The speed of rotation of the drums depends on the speed with which the goods enter or leave the autoclave. In the interior of the drums covering plates 5 are stationary fixed which do not follow the rotation of the drum and ensure that the suction draught can become effective on a determined part of the drums surfaces only. At each drum, 3 lip-lock device 6 is arranged behind the squeezing slit at that place where the cover plates in the interior of the drums end. Thus, the sieve drums stand under suction draught below the squeezing slit of the pair of drums. lt is advantageous to make the surface part of the jacket of each drum which will be under suction draught not greater than one quarter, in general not greater than one eighth, of the total jacket surface of the drum; preferably, this part should begin directly behind the squeezing slit and end at the lip-lock or somewhat belowthe latter. The space under suction-draught, which is limited along the roller axis by the squeezing slit and towards the autoclave by the lip-locks, is sealed toward the outer atmosphere at the front ends of the drums by lateral covering plates.

The diameter of the roller-lock drums can be adapted to the circumstances and technical requirements of each case. In general, drums with a diameter of about 50 to 100 cm. are used. The width of the drums depends on the textile materials to be treated and is in most cases to 200 cm. The perforation of the drum entering into contact with the textile material should be as finely porous as possible, and the distance of the pores should in general be less than 30 mm., preferably less than 15 mm. In some cases, it has proved useful to cover the outer jacket of the perforated drums with one or several layers of a close-meshed, seamless sieve-fabric, in order to prevent the textile material from becoming marked by the perforation and in order to maintain the suction draught more uniform.

When working with the roller-lock of the present invention, the lip-lock device arranged in conventional manner, prevents the gaseous phase standing under excess pressure from escaping from the pressure chamber into the atmosphere. The suction draught required within the sieve drums is produced with known devices, for example a blower or a ventilator, the pres sure behind the suction device being higher than the pressure in the pressure chamber. The gaseous medium which has been aspirated is discharged from the interior of the drums at the front end sides and is again recycled into the autoclave, advantageously through the sump, a previous heating, for example over heating elements, being possible. ln order to prevent an increase of the pressure in the autoclave, corresponding control devices can be installed in the described apparatus.

The rollerlock representing the present invention can be used as inlet or as outlet device for the goods to be treated, in all continuous apparatuses operating under elevated pressure in the field of textile processing, particularly for the heat treatment under pressure for the fixation of dyestuffs on fabrics or knit fabrics consisting of synthetic fibers or containing such fibers, as well as for the fixation of the synthetic fibrous materials themselves, i.e. for improving their textile technological properties. It is obvious that the apparatus of the present invention cannot only be used as transporting element into or out from autoclaves which stand under an atmosphere of compressed steam, but that it can be used in the same way as transporting element into or out from autoclaves which are filled with compressed gas, for example air.

When used in continuously operating apparatuses for the pressure treatment of textile materials, the apparatus of the present invention renders it possible to maintain, also for longer periods of time, atmospheric excess pressures of more than 2 atmospheres gauge, for example 3 to 5 atmospheres gauge. Thereby the production speed is considerably increased. However, experience has shown that pressures exceeding 4 atmospheres gauge do not essentially reduce the fixing periods for dyestuffs on textile materials.

We claim:

l. A roller-lock for sealing autoclaves to prevent the treating medium from escaping into the atmosphere as well as for continuously transporting textile materials into or out from autoclaves sealed in this way, consisting of a pair of rolls rotatable around their axis, characterized in that the rolls consist of hollow drums which are provided, at the cylindrical jacket surface, with a perforation and which form a squeezing slit over the width of the rolls and whose interior space stands under suction draught; which are provided, in their interior, with stationary fixed covering plates and contain at each drum a lip-lock behind the squeezing slit.

2. A roller-lock as claimed in claim 1, wherein the per-' i forated drums are covered with'one or several-layers of a close-meshed siev'e-fabric.

3; A roller-lock as claimed in claim I, wherein the part of the jacket surface of each drum, which stands under suction draught begins directly below the squeezing slit.

' 4; A roller-lock as claimed in claim 1, herein the part of the v -4 jacket surface being under suction draught of each drum is not greater than one quarter of the total jacket surface of the drums.

toclave. 

1. A roller-lock for sealing autoclaves to prevent the treating medium from escaping into the atmosphere as well as for continuously transporting textile materials into or out from autoclaves sealed in this way, consisting of a pair of rolls rotatable around their axis, characterized in that the rolls consist of hollow drums which are provided, at the cylindrical jacket surface, with a perforation and which form a squeezing slit over the width of the rolls and whose interior space stands under suction draught; which are provided, in their interior, with stationary fixed covering plates and contain at each drum a lip-lock behind the squeezing slit.
 2. A roller-lock as claimed in claim 1, wherein the perforated drums are covered with one or several layers of a close-meshed sieve-fabric.
 3. A roller-lock as claimed in claim 1, wherein the part of the jacket surface of each drum, which stands under suction draught, begins directly below the squeezing slit.
 4. A roller-lock as claimed in claim 1, herein the part of the jacket surface being under suction draught of each drum is not greater than one quarter of the total jacket surface of the drums.
 5. A roller-lock as claimed in claim 1, wherein the gaseous medium which has been aspirated is again fed into the autoclave. 